


An Eternal Kingdom

by Nevaeh_284



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevaeh_284/pseuds/Nevaeh_284
Summary: An alternate universe where Quirrel, Ghost, and The Hollow Knight survive. Dream no more ending.The Hollow Knight learns how to live after their sibling destroys the Radiance. THK has to deal with fatal injuries and relearn how to fight. Honestly I don't have a good description cuz I'm mostly making this up as I go lmao
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. A New Start

The only thing they remember was a bright, hot, searing light- and pain. Pain like they could have never imagined. It resonated in their head, their heart, everywhere. They heard someone scream, it might have been themselves.. Then, without warning, they woke up on the floor of their prison. The Vessel found themselves in a puddle of black liquid, but before they could process what the mysterious substance was, they were thrust into a thousand sensations at once.

They were exhausted, their mask felt as if it was breaking in two, they were incredibly cold, a sharp pain echoed throughout their whole body that originated from their abdomen, and a- panic inducing- realization that they were missing their left arm roused to the surface of their mind. They heard voices- no, just one voice that echoed off of the black temple walls, and they saw two, blurry, figures. 

One was way taller than the other. The tall one sprouted two, smooth, large horns. They- no, the Vessel was sure it was a she- was talking to the other figure. The other figure seemed painfully familiar. It was small, just as they had been when they were a grub themselves. Was it a child? What was a child doing in a place like this? 

Before they could think about it for much longer, the figures approached the Vessel. Anxiety bloomed in their chest and they tried looking around for their nail. Just as they found it- lying a few feet away- a hand rested on the side of their mask. It was a reassuring touch, one that a young bug might expect from a worried mother. The Vessel looked up at the figures in front of them, barely able to lift their own head off of the ground. They recognized the tall figure, now that she was close. It was their sister! Their sister had come to save them! 

As soon as the Vessel realized this, they thought about the possibility of Sister bringing Father. After all, Father always watched Sister- granted she was much bigger than they remembered. Sister started lifting the Vessel up, looping their singular arm around herself, and the Vessel managed to get their legs working. It wasn’t long before the pain became increasingly apparent, and before they knew it, they were throwing up a sticky, hot, orange, mystery substance. The child lept to the side, startled, before reassuringly rubbing the Vessel’s leg, for moral support.

“Are you okay to walk?” Sister asked the Vessel, once they were done spewing out liquid. The Vessel nodded, and the trio started their trek out of the egg. The Vessel felt as if they were going to collapse by the time they reached it out. 

Helping the Vessel out of the crossroads was a WHOLE other story. The smell of death was in the air- rotting corpses of bugs littered the old pathways. With the infection gone, there was nothing keeping the dead undead. The Vessel stopped every so often to throw up- the smell too much for them to handle. They hadn’t smelled anything but infection and stale air for who knows how long. Sister reassured them that they would get to the town soon. The Vessel replied only with a blank stare, but inside they were trusting she was right. They were growing weaker by the minute.

The child stayed ahead of the two siblings. They used their nail- the Vessel recognized it from somewhere- to kill any enemies that were going to attack the pair. There weren’t many- any that did try to attack them were simply confused and scared in a post infection haze. The child ruthlessly killed them, to the Vessel’s surprise. Eventually, the trio reached the rope that ascended to the town Sister had promised. 

Getting the Vessel up was tricky, Sister managed to use her silk to help pull them up. Sister helped the Vessel into town, seating them at the bench. An old looking bug approached them, offering to help in any way he could. The Vessel, now sitting, let themselves rest. They heard more voices join Sister’s and the old man as they let their eyes close. A woman, a man, a young girl, and then a raspy voice all joined the mix. The sound of howling wind and soft spoken voices faded out as their exhaustion lulled the Vessel to sleep.

When the Vessel awoke, they found themself wrapped up in many soft blankets on a bed. Looking at the ceiling above them, they soon realized they could only see out of one eye. They tried sitting up, but they noticed a weight on their good shoulder. Looking to their right, they found the Child, sleeping, on them. With their vision clearer than when they were still dazed and confused with the sudden loss of The Radiance inside of them, they could see the Child clearly. It was indeed a child, but it wasn’t a normal child. It was a sibling- a vessel- just like them. 

As the Vessel sat and thought more, memories started to come back to them. Their sibling hanging off of the edge of a platform in the Birthplace so long ago, right before the Vessel left with Father. Their sibling breaking open the door of the temple and releasing the Vessel from their chains. Unwillingly fighting them, before trying to stab themselves to death. Sister joining them, pinning down the Vessel, and their sibling entering the dreamscape inside of them. After that, things got hazy, and the Vessel couldn’t piece together what had happened. All they knew was that their sibling had killed and destroyed The Radiance, and in turn, the infection.

The Vessel felt as if someone were watching them and they looked down to see their sibling staring at them, awake. Sibling got into the Vessel’s lap and the Vessel sat up. It was then the Vessel also noticed they were without their cloak and there was shiny, silk-like wrappings around their middle- where they stabbed themselves. Sibling patted them on the arm and then rushed out of the room. The Vessel, unsure what to do, stayed where they were. 

It wasn’t long before Sibling returned with Sister. “Hello, sibling,” Sister greeted them, “I hope you slept well.” She said, walking over to the Vessel, and then sitting next to them. When the Vessel gave no response, she sighed, “You don’t have to act perfect anymore, sibling. The King isn’t here and your job is done. The infection is gone.” 

They still gave no response. Sibling waved their arms at Sister and she looked down at them. “Oh, right. Sibling, I want you to meet Ghost. I’m not sure if you’ve figured it out, but they too are a vessel,” Sister explained to the Vessel. 

'Ghost'...so they had a name. Did they, themself, have a name? Sister had a name, they presumed. The Vessel hesitantly pointed at Ghost, and then Sister. Before the Vessel realized it, they were making some noise. “ **Name?”** They asked, but Sister didn’t seem to understand them, or even hear them. That was expected, no one had ever been able to understand or hear them before- not even Father.

“ **Hornet.”**

The Vessel looked at Ghost. So they COULD talk. To each other, at least. Sister couldn’t hear them, though. The Vessel must have betrayed a look of perplexion, because then Ghost spoke up again.  **“Hornet no hear. Not void. Only void hear. You void. I void. We hear. We talk,”** Ghost explained. They must have not learned proper language. The Vessel understood them, nonetheless. 

“ **Sister’s name is Hornet?”** The Vessel asked. Ghost nodded in response. Hornet looked between the two of them.

“Are you two….talking?” She asked, not sure what was going on. Ghost nodded again, this time looking at Hornet. Not sure what to say in response, she didn’t say anything.

**“Do I have a name?”** the Vessel asked Ghost. Ghost looked at the Vessel for a few moments, before shrugging. The Vessel nodded and then looked at the blankets they were sitting on. The Vessel felt tired again. They must be injured really badly. They let out a soft sigh and laid back down. Ghost immediately re-assumed their position on their shoulder, the Vessel patted them on the head. For a god killer, they certainly were quite docile. The Vessel closed their eyes, and once again, slipped into unconsciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter so I hope you like it!


	2. Questions

Hornet sighed as she left the room that her siblings were sleeping in. She needed to figure out what to do about the Hollow Knight’s injuries. She knew that Ghost could help her heal them a little bit with soul- to keep them alive at least. Everything else? It was a mystery. She didn’t know how void beings worked on the inside. The only person who would know is gods know where in a different realm that only Ghost could access. Or, at least she thought only they could access. 

The princess sighed in frustration as she went to the main lounge area of the small home. A few friendly faces greeted her as she walked in. “How are they?” an older bug asked her. 

“They’re...better. I think a bit more coherent than earlier,” Hornet replied, while taking a seat next to a warm fireplace. The older bug just nodded. Hornet studied him. He looked a lot older than she remembered from their first meeting. 

He was a pillbug, a bit taller than Hornet. He always wore a mask over his face- like a lot of bugs did. He held a nail at his side at all times. She fought him once, he was a pretty good warrior. Little Ghost liked him a lot, she had noticed. If Ghost trusted him, so would she. But, for the life of herself, she could NOT remember his name. 

There were a few more people in the small room. Cornifer and Iselda were sitting together on a few cushions. Hornet had seen Cornifer around when travelling the caverns of Hallownest. He was nice enough in her opinion. He even offered to escort her through the more dangerous parts of the ruins. 

Hornet didn’t know Iselda that well. She knew Iselda was Cornifer’s wife and that she ran the shop while Cornifer explored Hallownest. Iselda, however, had a look about her. Strong arms, a scarred body, calloused hands, the posture of a proper warrior- she was definitely able to handle herself. Hornet was surprised that she didn’t travel with her scrawny husband. 

Another person in the room was Elderbug as he called himself, he lived and tended to the old town of Dirtmouth. Hornet found it amusing, she knew for sure that she, the Hollow Knight, and even Ghost were all older than him. Perks of having a literal god for a father, she guessed. 

Speaking of gods, Hornet figured that's who the last person was. He called himself ‘Grimm’. Apparently he was the master of the Troupe visiting Dirtmouth. She didn’t know much about him, other than that he gave her a bad feeling. 

As Hornet lost herself in studying the bugs around her, they had started conversation. It was a casual conversation between them. It mostly consisted of Iselda asking the older bug who he was and where he came from. Hornet decided to listen in.

“Ah, I’m from here. My name is Quirrel.” So that was his name.

“You’re from Dirtmouth? Are you sure? We certainly haven’t seen you around before,” Cornifer asked Quirrel.

Quirrel shifted in his seat, seeming a little uncomfortable, “Well, I’m not from Dirtmouth. I’m from Hallownest. I worked with the archivist, Monomon, until the infection took a hold and the kingdom fell.” 

Hornet watched as Quirrel was bombarded with loads of questions from Cornifer and Iselda. Quirrel only stammered in response. Hornet stood up, “Let’s leave Quirrel alone for now. Surely he needs a rest after coming all the way here from the ruins. We should all call it a night, it’s getting late. I will stay here with the H-” she stopped herself, surely telling them who the Hollow Knight was would only spark more questions, “-with my siblings. Elderbug, thank you for letting us use your home as shelter.” 

Elderbug nodded in response. Hornet decided to go back to her siblings as everyone was saying goodbye. She quietly opened the door and saw Ghost snuggled under the blankets with the Hollow Knight, who was finally sleeping peacefully. As she stepped in and closed the door, she wondered if vessels dreamt, or could they only enter the dreamscape with the glowing nail that Ghost wielded? Hornet decided that it was a question for another day. The young halfling sat down on the floor next to the sibling pile, leaning against the bed, her needle being held close, and she let herself drift into sleep. 

When the Vessel awoke again, they were nothing compared to how they were earlier. They were panicked, thrashing, and terrified. They didn’t have any dreams, but they realized that Father was missing. Mother was gone, Dryya, Ogrim- all of the knights. Their whole family. Surely Father would have come up from the Basin to meet them? Father cared? Or...was Father mad? The Vessel failed. Failed. Impure. Not pure. Father...Father would be mad. That’s when the Vessel started to freak out. Ghost woke up once the Vessel started thrashing. Void tendrils erupted from their destroyed arm. One smacked Hornet in the head and she woke up too. 

“ **Father will hate me! Hate me! He does! I failed! I failed everyone! I couldn’t be pure, I failed!”** The Vessel cried out, silently, for only Ghost to hear. 

Hornet jumped up and avoided void tendrils lashing out at her. Ghost leapt up and took the Vessel’s mask in their hands. They were...so small and cold. The Vessel calmed a little bit and the void tendrils stopped. 

“ **Not fail. God gone. Won,”** Ghost said to the Vessel. The Vessel understood what Ghost was trying to say. 

“ **Then where is Father?”** The Vessel asked. Ghost froze, which the Vessel assumed wasn’t a good thing. Ghost looked at Hornet, who had inched closer again. 

Ghost grabbed their map and opened it. They pointed at the Cast-Off Shell, the Pale King’s first death and birthplace. Hornet stared at the image for a few seconds, before seemingly getting a bit tense. Ghost pointed at the confused and anxious Vessel.

“Oh...oh Sibling...Father isn’t...I don’t know where he is. Ghost does...Ghost has the Kingsoul. And…” Hornet sighed. 

The Vessel looked at their smallest sibling. If Ghost had the Kingsoul, then they got half from Mother. But Father was too proud and loved Mother too deeply to give up his half, willingly. At least, the Father Vessel knew was like that. How long had passed? Would Father give up his bond to Mother for the sake of Hallownest? Was Hallownest still standing? How did Ghost even get into the Palace? Wasn’t it heavily guarded? Did Ghost kill the Kingsmould? Did Father already know they failed? If Hornet didn’t know where Father was, how did Ghost know?

A thousand questions raced through their mind. Wait, no, no mind. They can’t- they weren’t supposed to think. Wait, now they're thinking about not thinking. 

The Vessel started to get worked up again and Hornet interjected, “Hey..Hey...Sibling…” she put a hand on the side of their mask, cupping it, “We can go see your mother, okay? Then we can look for Father. I promise.” Her voice was gentle, calm and quiet- much like how Father spoke. It calmed the Vessel.

The Vessel started to think again- this time about Mother. Would Mother be mad? Upset? She had sacrificed so much, only for the Vessel to fail. She would hate them. They started to hyperventilate. Mother had always loved them. Now she wouldn’t.

Void erupted from their arm again. It also erupted through the crack in their mask, tearing the bandages, and their mask in half. Their mask fell off. The shade inside of them was released.


	3. Regrets

Ghost leapt back from the Hollow Knight as their mask fell and the shade erupted out of the Hollow Knight, void lashing out everywhere. Hornet jumped to the door and drew her needle, ready to fight. Ghost looked at her and shook their head before walking back over to the Hollow Knight.

The Hollow Knight was curled up in a tight ball. As a shade, they still had their injuries. Ghost looked at their mask, now split into two pieces. They would need to fix that. 

Ghost watched the Hollow Knight, curious. It seemed as though after a few seconds, all trace of emotion was gone from them. They uncurled and just layed there. Ghost looked over at Hornet to make sure she was still far enough away from the two of them, so that the Hollow Knight’s shade wouldn’t lash out and attack her. The small knight made a ‘stay there’ motion to Hornet, before picking up the Hollow Knight’s mask. 

The shade watched Ghost as Ghost thought about what to do. Ghost felt their eyes staring into them. Ghost then had an idea. They jumped off of the bed, still holding the Hollow Knight’s mask, and waddled over to Hornet. The mask was almost too big for them to carry. They held it out to Hornet and she took it. 

Ghost, yet again, pulled out their map and pointed to a spot in Deepnest. Hornet looked at where they were pointing. 

“You..want to take the mask to Deepnest? To the Mask Maker?” Hornet questioned the tiny vessel. 

They nodded.

She spoke again, “What about the Hollow Knight? We can’t leave them here alone and taking them to Deepnest would be dangerous, given their current state of vulnerability…and they would attack any bug who’s not...well...you.” 

Ghost thought for a few moments, then they pointed at Hornet and back to the Mask Maker’s location. 

“You want me to go and for you to stay? Are you sure?” Hornet asked, seemingly worried. 

Ghost nodded again. They could look after their bigger sibling and they could stay out of Deepnest. They felt a shiver go down their back. They could handle Deepnest just fine, but after their interaction with Nosk, they had no desire to return. 

Ghost knew why Hornet was worried. If, for some reason, something went wrong while she was away, she would have no way of knowing. Ghost nodded again, more sternly this time.

Hornet sighed, “Alright. The trip won’t take me long, then. I’ll use the Stag Station. If you need anything, find Quirrel- or- anyone else you trust is able to handle odd situations. Right. Okay, I’ll hopefully be back within a few hours.” Hornet took one last look at her siblings, before leaving. She shut the door behind her.

Ghost walked back over to the Hollow Knight. They hopped up on the bed and sat next to them. They stared straight ahead, the only movement was the slow, vapor-like, rising of void from the shade. Ghost knew what the Hollow Knight’s life must have been like with the King, is this what they had to act like? Empty? Simply existing quietly, with no one to notice them? 

Ghost heard the words during their own descent; No mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering- they couldn’t begin to imagine the suffering, pain, and horrible experiences that their sibling had to go through. But, Ghost thought- no- Ghost knew they were loved. By Hornet, Ghost knew. Ghost knew the very second they were reunited that Hornet loved the Hollow Knight. From the glint of regret in her eyes and the quiet, breathless, whispers of apology as she struck them down, it was clear as day. The way she took care of them as they were sleeping, quietly, gently, tending to their wounds was only a way of what Ghost thought to be love. 

They also were loved by the Queen, for sure. How could she not love her own child? Even as Ghost stood before her for the first time, the first time she met another of her spawn, they swore they could feel some form of emotion radiating from her. Whether it was for the King or for themself- they didn’t know. But she had to love the Hollow Knight. Why else would she be so sad? 

The King, Ghost thought, also loved the Hollow Knight. Ghost remembered the cradle they found in the palace, fit perfectly to the size of Ghost. To the size of the Hollow Knight before they were raised and trained to ‘perfection’. The memory sealed away in the Path of Pain also served as evidence. Ghost knew that the Hollow Knight loved the King as well, and Hornet, and the Queen. Quite possibly, also the Five Great Knights. 

What was love? Ghost doesn’t know if they’ve ever felt it. Have they ever been loved? They didn’t know. They haven’t been around in Hallownest for very long. Ghost thought back to people they’ve met on their quest. They met Elderbug first. They liked Elderbug. He has been nothing but kind to them ever since they arrived. He would often ramble to Ghost while Ghost rested at the bench in Dirtmouth. 

Then, Ghost thought about Hornet. Hornet had saved Ghost’s life, she had also taken the time to understand the Knight, who at first glance seemed completely empty. She didn’t blame Ghost for the death of her mother, instead she chose to forgive them, and then help them. Maybe Hornet loved them? Maybe they loved Hornet. The thought of anything bad happening to her brought a familiar wave of bad feelings over them. 

The feelings then made Ghost think about Quirrel. When Ghost saw Quirrel arrive in Dirtmouth, after Ghost defeated the Radiance, Ghost cried with relief. They almost cried again, when thinking about it.

_ Ghost was waiting outside, sitting on the bench in Dirtmouth. Hornet had left with Elderbug, Iselda, and the Hollow Knight. They went to Elderbug’s home, to tend to the Hollow Knights wounds.  _

_ Ghost sat, listening quietly to the rushing wind whip through the town. They stared up at the ceiling of the cavern, far above them. They were exhausted. The battle with the Radiance really took energy out of them. Now that the Hollow Knight was safe and all threats of danger were gone, the adrenaline was fading from their small form.  _

_ Ghost closed their eyes and just took in the calm, comfortable, silence for a few minutes. They tried not to think too much. Too many bad things happened during their quest, they didn’t want to deal with sorrows. Not now.  _

_ Ghost opened their eyes and looked past the town, to the well that led to the kingdom. They had to help Hornet rebuild, they knew that much. It wouldn’t be easy. The City of Tears would have to be reverted back into the Capital. They would have to bury the corpses littered throughout Hallownest. Bugs coming out of the infection would be confused and scared, and they would need homes, food, water, and more. The waterways would also need to be cleared out, buildings would have to be fixed, there was just so much to do. Not to mention that a new king or queen would have to be appointed, and Ghost knew that the White Lady wasn’t stable enough to rule. Did Ghost have to rule? They did brandish the King’s Brand, but they had no formal training of any kind. Would Hornet take up the position as Queen of Hallownest AND Deepnest? No, that would be too much for her to handle. She’s only one bug. One bug can only handle so much.  _

_ Ghost’s thoughts drifted to the Hollow Knight taking up position as king, but were soon interrupted as Ghost saw someone ascend the well. Ghost leapt up and drew their nail out of instinct, but they left their defensive stance as soon as the bug completely climbed out.  _

_ They dropped their nail in shock as Quirrel straightened up. Quirrel turned and started to walk into town, waving as they saw Ghost. Ghost dashed to him as fast as they could, before tackling the larger bug into a hug. Quirrel fell backwards onto the ground. _

_ “Woah! Hello there, little friend,” Quirrel chuckled as he hugged them back, sitting upright.  _

_ Ghost thought Quirrel had died. When they left the blue lake, after sitting with him for hours, and came back to find Quirrel gone with only his nail sticking out of the ground, Ghost had assumed the worst. With grief clouding their mind and causing the void inside of them to start raging like a torrent storm, Ghost went to the temple and fought the Hollow Knight. Ghost buried their face into Quirrel’s shell, and started to cry, inky tears of void running down their face. _

_ As they cried, Quirrel felt them shaking and he lifted them up. Upon seeing the tears flow out of his strong, heroic, seemingly invincible to anything and everything, friend, a look of guilt shadowed his face, “Hey, hey, it’s okay, little friend, I’m okay, I’m here,” Quirrel held them close, “I’m okay now. I’m here now. I’m not leaving,” Quirrel held Ghost and rocked them, and murmuring soft, quiet, words of comfort to the Knight. They sat like that for a long time. _

_ Even later, Hornet spent at least a half of an hour convincing Ghost to leave Quirrel, so Ghost could go and rest. Quirrel had to promise that he’d still be there when Ghost awoke. Only then did Ghost leave Quirrel’s side.  _

Ghost was ripped out from their memory by the sound of the Hollow Knight’s shade. Ghost looked at the shade, wondering what disturbed them. They noticed that the shade was clutching at the wound on their shoulder, where their arm had detached from. Ghost felt a stab of pity. They hoped they could find a way to fix the Hollow Knight’s arm. Maybe if they travelled into the White Palace, Ghost could see if anything in the King’s workshop would help. 

Ghost, for now, was content with just leaning against the shade. They could patiently wait for Hornet to return. Then, once they returned the mask to the Hollow Knight, the Hollow Knight could continue their recovery. After the Hollow Knight was able to recover on their own, Ghost and Hornet could start the restoration of Hallownest, finally leaving behind the regrets of the past. It was just a matter of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Writing in Ghost's POV certainly is interesting! Also, I hope this wasn't too late haha. I've had a lot of school work recently. I'm hoping I can write and publish the next chapter in a decent amount of time! Thank you for reading!!


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